in the washington post this morning. a picture of president obama andjohnboehner. theupbeat tone was a dramatic shift from recent years when the president and a gop fortified by anti-government activists clashed repeatedly over spending and taxes. if he were to go to yesterday's new york times, they have a listening are at least pictures of the key leaders that will be involved in this process. to show you where they stand specifically on some issues, here is the president saying he will reject any bill that extends tax cuts for the wealthy. here is john boehner who has said raising tax rates is unacceptable and a new revenue should be generated by economic growth spurred by a simpler tax code and that closes loopholes and and deductions. there are some other leaders involved in this project. what do you think they will be able to do to keep the fiscal cliff from happening by the end of the year? that meeting taking place at the white house. here is some video from it. if you are looking at that again and you want to wait and on this topic, you can call in. your confidence on congressional lead

johnboehner, haveshifted in recent days, and they are talking more about their openness, much more so than they were before the election. they are saying that they are open to revenue, but only in the formal closing loopholes, not raising rates. host: the front page of "politico," you can check that out. stephen sloan, what is the likelihood that both sides agreed to a short-term deal or a long-term deal in the last 50 days of the lame-duck session? host: -- caller: people want a deal, but the question is if both sides can take the pain that it will take to get to the deal. i am not sure that either side is willing to take that kind of pain. you could still go over the cliff. host: anything else on the agenda this week, as negotiations kickoff? caller: tomorrow night this will be the first time that lawmakers are on capitol hill since september. basically, lawmakers will be talking amongst themselves about negotiations with the white house. host: stephen sloan, thank you so much for joining us this morning. caller: thank you. host: we're going now to tom, from columbus, ohio. we're di

boehnersaysunder the right conditions might be able to bargain. what are those? guest: i am cautiously optimistic that we will find some solution in a time. i think it would be irresponsible, a big it would be responsible for the president or either party to voluntarily drive off of the cliff. i think the key is that we want a smart balance to get the economy going, generate more revenue, as well as smart spending cuts. we really think those are conditions that actually get the economy going. and ensure our investors that we are serious about getting our financial house in order. i think working with the tax code is critical. i do not how -- see how we do this without during the fundamental tax reform. it the economy over the past three years had just been an average recovery, back where we were in 2009, our deficit would be cut in half this year. that goes a long way toward a balanced budget, with this we would get there, and fundamental tax reform is key to getting all of that capital off the sidelines, back to create the jobs we need pirouetting fundamental tax reform along with the

week. host: "the baltimore sun" has a story, "boehner ways next moves." this is from "the wall street journal." "post office hint of gop path." host: "she fit a profile." so, more on leadership, which both sides will be voting for this week when they return to washington on who will be their leaders. so, we will continue to watch that story for u.s. well. part of the mix to avoid the fiscal cliff is these jobless benefits. that is the headline in the politics and policy section of "the washington post." "over 2 million americans could lose their jobless benefits before the end of the year." host: susan, michigan, what do you think? should we cut medicare and social security? caller: absolutely not. absolutely not. host: why not? caller: i am a woman who has finally reached the age of social security. all the years the work, this money was taken out of my paycheck. i was told from a very young age that when i reached a fine age of the period where you retire and you can get social security, that all the money that i paid in would be refunded to me. this money is not to be touched, not

johnboehner, ericcantor who will stay on with those rules that have had since 2011 when republicans took control of the house. in terms of strategy and approach, we are dealing with the same players we were dealing with before the election. host: turning toward the senate, what is the news there? caller: a lot of the same there as well. the republicans and democrats met yesterday morning behind closed doors and basically reelected the same leaders should have said for some time now. harry reid on the democratic side. on the republican side of mitch mcconnell and john corn and who is coming off of two cycles on the republican campaign committee. he will be replacing john kyl who is retiring. another couple of people down the ladder were reelected. there was an opening for for the campaign committee slot. thank you for talking with us. our question this morning is your level of confidence in the white house national security team. let's hear from carrie from michigan. caller: good morning. can you hear me? i think this is another cover up for the republican party. look at what condole